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start of Cumberland |
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Page 180:-
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roman fort, Hardknott
Pass
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The foundations on Hardknot may have belonged to some
chapel or cross, built there as an eminent place. The large
tract of mountains on the east side of the county called
Cross Fells, one of the highest mountains in the
north [h], have the name given them on that account, being
before called Brinds fell, Devils fell; and
Dilston, a small town under them is contracted from
Devilston [2].
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Irton. British
Pearls
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Irt, River
pearls
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On the Irt stands the town of Irt or
Irton; the manor of which belonged to an antient
family of that name in the reign of Henry II. of whom was
Ralph Irton prior of Gisburn and bishop of Carlisle 1280
[i]. Muscle pearls are found in this and other rivers
hereabouts as also in Wales. A patent was granted to certain
gentlemen for pearl fishing here, but they are not very
plentiful, and may be had cheaper from the straits of
Magellan, where sir John Narborough and sir Richard Hawkins
tell us they abound in every muscle [k]. Tacitus [l]
describes the British pearls as of bad colour, subfuscae
ac liventes; but this is not their general character.
Bede [m] gives a juster account of them when he says they
are of all colours. Those that are not bright and shining ,
and such are met with in the Irt, &c. are usually called
Sand pearl, which are as useful in physic as the
finest. Dr. Lister says he has found sixteen of these in one
muscle, but that they are all only senescentium
musculorum vitia [n]. The poor people gather them at low
water, and sell them to the jewellers, and it is said Mr.
Patrickson of How in this county got as many as sold for
800l. [o]
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St. Bees.
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St Bees Abbey
St Bees School
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"St. Beges in Coupland hard on the west side a celle longing
to St. Mary's abbey at York [p]." Bega is said to have
founded a nunnery here A.D. 650, which being destroyed by
the Danes was refounded for Benedictine monks by Ranulphus
de Meschines earl of Cumberland, and valued at £.143.
[q] The conventual church, now parochial, has a west door
adorned like that of Ifley c. Oxon. The chancel, which is
ruined, has narrow lancet windows. In the church is a wooden
figure of Anthony last lord Lucy of Egremont [r]. In the
yard are two battered figures of knights. Archbishop
Grindal, who was born here, founded a good grammar-school,
to which belongs a library, and it was much improved by the
bounty of Dr. Lamplugh archbishop of York, Dr. Smith bishop
of Carlisle, sir James Lowther of Whitehaven, &c. The
right of presenting a master is in the master and fellows of
Queen's college, Oxford, to which its founder was also a
benefactor [3]. The vicarage-house seems to have been built
out of the ruins of the monastery, whose foundations extend
to the south. A bridge leading to the village has the
archbishop's initials 1588 [s].
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St Bees Head
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The great cliff called Bamhead or Bees head
abounds with plenty of sea fowl.
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Egremont.
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Egremont
Egremont Castle
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"Egermont, south from Cokermouth, longith to the lord
Fitzwalter, and standith by the market town of Egremont
[t]."
Egremont castle passed from the Meschines to the Lucys, of
whom Maud, only sister and heir of Anthony lord Lucy
before-mentioned, married Henry Percy first earl of
Northumberland, in whose male line it continued till
Elizabeth sole daughter and heiress of Joceline last earl of
Northumberland of that line, married Charles duke of
Somerset 1682, and transferred it to his family. Their son
Algernon was created 1749 earl of Egremont with remainder to
his nephew sir Charles Wyndham, who succeeded to the title
on his decease 1750, and was succeeded 1763 by his son
George, present and 2d earl of Egremont. The town of
Egremont once sent members to Parliament [u].
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Whitehaven.
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Whitehaven
shipping
coal mines
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Below St. Bees and in its parish is Whitehaven a
handsome regular town, so called from the white rocks and
cliffs. It is chiefly beholden for its improvement to sir
John Lowther, who took his title of distinction from it, and
whose descendants have a considerable estate here [4]. It
contains 1200 inhabitants, and has 190 great ships, mostly
employed in the coal trade; three chapels, four
meeting-houses, and a good artificial harbour with a long
pier. The collieries lie at the foot of an hill 80 fathoms
deep, by an easy descent bricked and vaulted. The town and
collieries produced a revenue of 16,000 a year to the late
sir James Lowther, who had here a magazine of oats, which he
always sold to the colliers at 5s. per bushel Cumberland or
three Winchester measure [x]
Whitehaven in 1566 had but six houses and only one
pickard of eight or nine tons; in 1582 twelve small
ships. Sir Christopher, 2d son of sir John Lowther,
purchased the lands of St. Bees priory here, and settled
here and died 1644. The late sir James lived to see about
11000 inhabitants, and about 260 sail ships of near 30,000
tuns burthen. Thirty of them are employed in foreign trade
and the rest in the coal trade, and export yearly above
20,000 tuns. He devised his estates here to sir William
Lowther of Holker, bart. who dying the next year was
succeeded in the said estates, reckoned 14,000£. a
year, by the present sir James Lowther, created earl of
Lonsdale 1780. The coal mines here are perhaps the most
extraordinary in the world; sir John Lowther, father of the
late sir James, first worked them for exportation, and he
and his son in the course of half a century are supposed to
have expended in one of them about half a million sterling.
The mines are sunk to a depth of 130 fathom, and extended
under the sea to places where there is over them a depth of
water for ships of large burthen. Here are three strata of
coal at a considerable distance, one above another, but not
always regular, being interspersed by breaks of hard rock
called dykes. Four fire-engines belong to this
colliery, which, when all at work, discharge from it about
1228 gallons every minute at 13 strokes, and after the rate
of 1,768,620 gallons in 24 hours. Three chapels have been
erected by the Lowther family for the inhabitants, who now
amount to about 2,200 families.
Sir John Clerk, in a letter to Mr. Roger Gale 1739, gives
this account of Whitehaven and its collieries:
"The greatest curiosity at Whitehaven is sir James Lowther
himself; whenever his death happens [y] it will be much felt
by the people of this place, for when his money comes to be
divided the coal will be set in farm and consequently
brought to the verge of ruin. Amongst the extraordinary
works of this place, I could not but admire those on the
sea-coast to the westward. The sink goes down
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[h]
Burn, II. 364.
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[2]
G.
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[i]
G. Burn, II. 22.
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[k]
Voy. p.7. Observations, 1622, p.88.
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[l]
Vit. Agric. c.12.
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[m]
I. 1.
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[n]
de Conchil. fluv. § 2. G.
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[o]
Burn, II. 24.
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[p]
Lel. VII. 71.
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[q]
Tan. 73.
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[r]
Burn, II. 41.
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[3]
G.
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[s]
Grose.
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[t]
Lel. VII. 72.
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[u]
Burn, II. 31-34.
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[4]
G.
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[x]
Pennant, 1772, p.47-50.
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[y]
He died 1755.
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perpendicularly
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gazetteer links
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-- "Cross Fells" -- Cross Fell
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-- "Egremont Castle" -- Egremont Castle
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-- "Egremont" -- Egremont
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-- "Irt, River" -- Irt, River
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-- "Irt" -- Irton
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-- (roman fort, Hardknott Pass)
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-- "Bamhead" -- St Bees Head
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-- St Bees School
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-- "St Beges" -- St Bees
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-- St Mary and St Bega's Church
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-- Whitehaven Coalfield
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-- "Whitehaven" -- Whitehaven
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